R Aquarii tagged posts

Hubble Captures Intricacies of R Aquarii, a Symbiotic Binary Star roughly 700 Light-Years from Earth

Hubble's view on symbiotic binary star R Aquarii

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided a dramatic and colorful close-up look at one of the most rambunctious stars in our galaxy, weaving a huge spiral pattern among the stars. Hubble’s images capture its details and its evolution is featured by a unique timelapse video.

Residing only roughly 700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Aquarius, R Aquarii is a symbiotic binary star: a type of binary star system consisting of a white dwarf and a red giant that is surrounded by a large, dynamic nebula. As the closest symbiotic star to Earth, R Aquarii was studied by none other than Edwin Hubble in an effort to understand the mechanism that powers the system.

R Aquarii undergoes violent eruptions that blast out huge filaments of glowing gas...

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